A. It's expensive to get started
B. It seemed really difficult
C. I wasn't sure I could handle the pattern-making
While A is absolutely true, B and C have turned out to be far more manageable than I expected. As per usual, dedication, technique research and slow, deliberate work is the few.
My first REAL leather hand-work project was 2013's Game of Thrones Khal Drogo leather belt. It was created with a scrap/damaged hide gifted to me by a family friend who works for Cole Haan and it was fairly successful. I always wanted to do more, though.
The opportunity/excuse to really invest in beautiful tools presented itself late last year when I decided I'd be returning to Europe to attend the Endless Nights event with my better half. He really, really wanted a hard leather vest. I really, really wanted to learn leathercraft and have a 2.5-3 hour round trip commute on above ground subways and a deep-seated need to research all new interests extensively. The stage was set for taking up a new trade.
Stage 1: Designing the chest armor
This weekend I patterned out a basic leather vest/chest armor. For a first attempt, I wanted the pattern to be fairly simple, versatile and flattering. I considered moulded armor, but after reading up on it realized that it would hinder my ability to emboss or stamp the leather. I wasn't keep on the horizontal "Roman-style" plates because they make the wearers' abdomen look more pronounced (and isn't the point of "fashion" armor to look more stately and regal?).
After a fair amount of mulling, I decided to apply the concept of the "princess seam" (typically associated with womenswear) and applied it in a flatter, more masculine way to a basic torso block for my S.O.'s form. I used Kamui Cosplay's armor book from a previous project (Worbla armor from Halloween 2014) as a basis for the torso block, but I ended up chopping it up so much anyways (my S.O. is 6'3", slim, with broad shoulders) I should've just drafted it by hand. Ah well, false economies aside, it is done now.
For those who are wondering: Kamui Cosplay's male armor block is for a 34" chest and a 31" waist and probably best for 5'8-5'9", so on the smaller side of the spectrum. It's a good starting point for those who are handy with drafting but not so great if that intimidates you.
This was the inspiration for the lines of my pattern. I like the yoke at the top and the way it draws attention to the shoulders. At a later date I'll probably scan the pattern and share it.
Pattern notes/leather seam allowances:
Although this was based on pieced-together knowledge from Tandy Leather tutorials and youtube, it appears as though this style of leather seaming requires you to only add a seam allowance to ONE side (hence, that's what I did). There were no guidelines for appropriate seam allowances, so I drafted 1/2" after measuring out a small border and my desired stitching hole diameter….we shall see how that works!
For hardware and motifs, my S.O. decided he wanted a Celtic motif, so I scoured the internet for the appropriate buckle!
Getting great hardware and buckles: A perpetual struggle
My S.O. and I fell in love with these buckles and details after seeing this image. There was only one problem:
1. A lot of the hardware available on traditional leather crafting sites is geared towards people making horse tack or accessories with a "western" feel. In simple language: some of it is plain cheesy or excessive.
2. Most of the cool, affordable, stylized hardware is being made by companies in Europe. No time to ship that over here!
Cue the deep-google mission. For those on the hunt for LARP/LOTR/fantasy/goth/historical hardware, I found several great resources:
1. Kult of Athena: Affordable buckles (as low as $1.00) and accessories, US-based. Unfortunately mostly brass.
2. Armor and Castings: Historical Recreation site. All buckles available in brass or silver. The downside is, it can get pricey ($7.50 for a plated silver buckle, for example). The shapes are BEAUTIFUL, though, and I may order for a future project I have in mind.
3. Fight Club Group: Technically this is an Aussie company, but again, prices are reasonable. They stock much of what the European equivalents have.
4. Conchos.com: While some of the stuff is standard Western fare, there are some unique patterns in the mix as well, as well as matching buckle sets.
We ended up getting these from conchos.com, which had the "vibe" of the rope work buckles but in a silver casting. The fact that they had a sale didn't hurt.
Sewing hard leather:
The biggest expense of this project was surprisingly…the fact that we decided to go the hand-stitching route, which necessitated the purchase of some speciality tools. I got a punch set from Tandy, a stitching tool and one of these babies, a stitching pony, which holds the leather in place as you stitch it together:
Even though the sewing tools were on the pricey side, they looked a lot classier than quick-rivets and would allow use to add decorative stamp elements and patterns along the borders.
More to come as I delve into the mock-up (created again from the Mothra of a free damaged hide that the Drogo belt came from). The pieces are all cut out, just waiting for the real hide from Hide House and the tool sets.
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